For the love of Fnick!
by Aleria14
Summary: The Flock know that Fang has gone, but each of them have special memories with him that cannot be forgotten. See each Flock member thinks back to a time that they had spent with Fang, and see why they miss and need him so much. Some humor.
1. Angel's memory

**Me: Well, this is just a random thought that I had while sitting around...trying to think of a fic to write**

**Iggy: You do realise that it isn't all that random if you were _thinking _of something to write, right?**

**Me: Uh...fine, whatever**

**Iggy: I win :)**

**Me: You do not! Anyway, this is basically some of the Flocks memories that they have with Fang and some great moments that he's had. It's Post-FANG so he's not here for any of this, but the Flock still thinks of him a lot, which I think is sweet 3**

**Iggy: -eyeroll-**

**Me: I bet you can't wait to see what I have in store for you**

**Iggy: ...I think I can wait**

**Me: ;). Now for the wonderful disclaimer of disclaimingness!**

**Iggy: -facepalm- I'm going to do the disclaimer to make sure that you don't mess it up like you always do.**

**_Disclaimer: Bell owns nothing. Squat. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Nothing. At all. Not even me. Especially not me. If she owned me I'd-_**

**Me: Stop rambling! Alright guys, this one's about Angel and I think it's really cute. I hope you like it :)**

Angel sat upright as more thunder echoed loudly through the house. She then brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight, resting her chin on her knees. There hadn't been a thunderstorm this big since she was about five years old at the old E-house, three years after they'd been rescued. Jeb had just left and she was afraid that the Whitecoats were going to come back and get her. She smiled sadly at the memory and buried her face in her covers. Fang had helped her that night...but now he was gone. And there was no one to help her this time.

_Angel's lip trembled slightly as she pulled the covers tightly under her chin, clenching the fabric into bunches in her small hands. Another crack of thunder then lit up the sky in an amazing flash of light, followed by the low rumbling growl of thunder. Angel jumped slightly and then pulled the covers higher over her face. She was shaking, but she wasn't sure if it was from the freezing cold weather or because she was afraid. She was very afraid. Not only of the thunder, but also of whatever was concealing itself inside her closet. She knew that it sounded silly and illogical for her to think that there was something hiding in there that was going to get her, but she was still afraid. What if it was an Eraser? Or worse, a Whitecoat? She had just had a dream about a Whitecoat that had..._

No_, she thought angrily, _don't think about that. There are no Whitecoats here at the E-shaped house. I'm safe here.

_But as another flash of lightning illuminated the sky and the thunder followed right on cue, Angel began to question this. Were they really safe here? Or did Angel have a right to be scared?_

_The young girl glanced quickly over at Nudge's empty bed. She hadn't been able to sleep and had gone to lie down on the couch and watch TV to pass the time for a while. Angel knew this because she'd read her mind. She'd been getting very good at doing that and had been improving on her skill ever since Jeb had left them._

_Angel jumped and gasped as the loudest boom of thunder that she'd ever heard seemed to rattle the whole frame of the house. Then, as the lightning struck again, Angel could have sworn that she saw a monster-like shadow creep across the wall. She held back a whimper and quickly pulled the covers right over her head, covering her golden curls. Suddenly, an evil laugh echoed loudly through her thoughts and she recognised it to be from one of the Whitecoats that she'd known back at the school. It was like her nightmare come to life as she saw him stand over her, laughing manically as she suffered a fate worse than death._

"_Stop it," she whispered, holding her hands over her ears and burying her face in her blanket. "Stop it, stop it, stop it...LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

_Angel bolted up right in bed panting as she looked around the room. It was completely empty aside from Nudge's empty bed. _

Rattle, rattle.

_Angel's eyes darted over to the door, and she stared as the handle slowly began to turn full circle and the door slowly began to ease open with a loud creak._

"_Angel?" The Whitecoats voice sneered from the doorway. "Angel."_

"_Go away!" She screamed burying her face in her knees. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"_

_She felt tears streaming down her face and onto the blanket as she heard footsteps hurry across the floor and stop at her bed. Upon feeling a hand grabbing her shoulder she lay down and began to kick and scream. "DON'T TOUCH ME! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"_

"_Angel! It's me, Fang! Ow!"_

_Angel stopped thrashing around and opened her pale-blue eyes to meet Fang's dark ones. It was Fang alright. He was standing over her looking very tired but also concerned. Angel sat up slowly and and then proceeded to cry as Fang wrapped his strong arms around her shaking body._

"_Shh," he soothed, patting her back between her wings as she cried. "It was just a nightmare. We all have them. No one is going to hurt you. Not anymore."_

_Angel, who was staining Fang's dark shirt with her tears, nodded against his chest, closing her eyes tighter. "There's something in my closet, Fang. It wants to hurt me."_

_Fang loosened his grip on the small girl and looked down at her. Angel pried her face out of his shirt to meet his gaze and entered his thoughts, surprised to find that he didn't think it was silly at all and seemed to understand._

"_We're just going to have to show this monster who's boss then, aren't we?" He said and stood up as another flash of lightning filled the room, which was cut off by more thunder._

"_Do we have to?" Angel whispered, looking between Fang and the threatening closet._

"_Come on, Ange," Fang said reassuringly. "After everything we've been through I don't think that a monster can hurt us."_

_Angel wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked away from the closet at Fang, who was holding a hand out to her._

"_Okay," she whispered, taking his hand and reluctantly climbing out of bed. _

_She held Fang's hand in a deathgrip as the two winged kids silently walked over to the closet and stood in front of it._

"_Alright," Fang said, placing a hand on the handle, "when I open the door, we'll tell him to go away and never bother you again, ok?"_

_Despite herself, Angel couldn't help but smile slightly at the way Fang was handling this. "Okay...but what happens if he doesn't go away?"_

"_Then we'll make him leave. He can't stay here." He paused. "You ready?"_

_Angel bit her lip, but nodded, turning to face the closet and holding Fang's hand tight._

"_On three. One...two...three!"_

_Fang quickly yanked the door open, lightning and thunder clashed menacingly behind them, and the two birdkids stared into the gloom._

_Nothing. Nothing was in there._

"_Maybe you scared him away," she whispered, looking over her shoulder as if he may appear at any minute._

"_Mr. Monster," Fang said loudly to be heard over the roar of the rain and thunder, "if you're still in here, I want you to go away and leave Angel alone. Otherwise, you have to answer to the two of us. And believe me, you _don't _want to mess with us."_

_If there was a monster in there, he didn't reply. _

_However, Iggy did._

"_Fang! It's freaking three in the morning!" he shouted angrily from his room. "I may not be a monster but I swear that if you don't stop shouting I will not hesitate to attack you like one, dammit!"_

"_I love you too, Iggy!" Fang shouted back and Angel burst into a fit of giggles._

"_Go. To. Sleep. Fang!" He replied, sounding furious and Angel held back more laughter as Fang smiled at her._

"_Get some sleep before Iggy the monster comes in and attacks us both," he whispered as he led Angel back to her bed._

"_I HEARD THAT!" Iggy shouted from down the hall._

You were supposed to,_ Angel thought at him, climbing into bed. _

_Fang pulled the covers up to her chin._

"_Goodnight, Angel."_

"_Goodnight, Fang."_

_Angel smiled to herself as Fang left the room. She was glad that there wasn't a monster in her closet anymore, and knew that it would stay that way. Unless, of course, Iggy decided to go and live in there. Luckily that would never happen. _

_On that thought, she fell asleep._

Angel brought her head up from her knees and glanced over at the closet. She knew for certain that there was no monster in there now that she was older, but all the same, she wished that Fang was here to tell her that again. She needed to hear it.

"Goodnight, Mr. Monster," She whispered to the closet as she slowly sunk underneath the covers and rested her head on her pillow. "Goodnight, Fang."

**Me: Well. That was more depressing than I intended it to be**

**Iggy: I am not a monster!**

**Me: Are too. **

**R&R? Please?**

**More Flock members to come if you want to keep reading! I hope that you do...**

**~Bell and Ig**


	2. Gazzy's memory

**Iggy: Bell, why the heck did you wake me up for this?**

**Me: I've been up for -yawns- three hours writing this. You are going to help me write an AN and you are going to like it!**

**Iggy: Oooh, touchy.**

**Me: -glares-**

**Iggy: -eyeroll Fine, fine, just get on with it**

**Me: Yeah...this chapter isn't great...in fact, it's really bad and if I think of something better, I'll post it later. But this is Gazzy's favorite memory that he's had with Fang -yawns-**

**Iggy: We should really go back to bed...**

**Me: Yeah...anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy the chapter more than I do...**

* * *

Gazzy sat silently at the table with his deck of cards on his left hand side, and his mini, unfinished house of cards to the right. So far, he'd used up 25 of his 54 cards, making the base five triangles long and he had decided to work his way up from there. He'd done one and a half levels of this before he'd suddenly stopped and dropped his head onto the smooth wood of the kitchen table in complete and utter boredom.

Leaving his head on the table, he stared at the brown wood and listened carefully. There was not a sound to be heard throughout the entire house. _It was kind of freaky actually,_ Gazzy thought. _Our household used to be buzzing with life. Iggy would be in the kitchen making a cake or something while telling me not to lick the icing until I'd finished mixing it, Nudge would be sitting on a stool near the table, chattering away about some magazine she'd read or a new song she'd heard or whatever, Angel would be playing with Total and trying to sneak some cake mix for him to eat, Max would be watching and assessing the situation while trying not to get in the way of Iggy's cooking rampage, and Fang…_

Gazzy stopped short and brought his head up slowly from the table, staring at his house of cards.

…_and Fang…was here._

Gazzy reached out and forcefully knocked the cards off the table, making them spin like pinwheels caught by the wind until they hit the floor. After this act, the house continued to remain silent. Gazzy picked up a card that hadn't fell and twirled it between his fingers.

"_Fang! Will you play Uno with me?" Gazzy asked, waving a deck of cards in Fang's unamused face._

_Fang put his book down on his desk and turned to face the gleeful six year old who was bouncing up and down in front of him with a pack of Uno cards._

"_You want me to play with you?" Fang asked, obviously surprised by the younger boys actions. "Why didn't you ask one of the others?" _

_Gazzy's shoulders slumped slightly when Fang said this. His first thought was that the older boy who, like Iggy, he looked up to in so many ways, didn't want to play a game with him._

"_Angel doesn't understand the game properly and keeps shouting 'Uno' when she has four cards left, Nudge is reading her magazine, Iggy's blind so he can't play, and I don't know where Max is," Gazzy said really quickly, the words streaming out of his mouth before he could think it through. _

_Fang looked at the younger boy evenly._

"_It's okay," Gazzy added, heading for the door. "You don't have to play. I'll-"_

"_No, I'll play with you, Gaz," Fang broke in, and the Gasman spun on his heels and turned to Fang, his face expressing pure happiness._

"_Really?"_

_Fang nodded and sat himself down onto the floor, patting the spot in front of him. Gazzy smiled excitedly, sat down and started dealing the cards eagerly. He dealt eight cards each._

"_Isn't it seven each, Gaz?" Fang asked, counting his cards as he held them in his hands and fanned them out._

"_Yeah, but I don't like the number seven," Gaz said, looking down happily at his cards._

_Fang shrugged in response, and then the two birdkids began to play._

_Throughout the game, the two didn't say much. Fang was his usual quiet self, and Gazzy was just so overwhelmed by the joy of someone playing a game with him that he felt no need to speak. The only person that had _ever_ played Uno with him_ _was Jeb, and he'd left a while ago. Gazzy didn't really know what to think about this. He'd pretty much accepted that Max was running the household now and that Jeb wasn't coming back. He'd also really started to bond with Iggy, too. Together, the two of them could really get up to mischief and go against Max's iron will when it came to rules. But, as much as he hated to admit it, sometimes Iggy couldn't play the games that he wanted to play, or, at least, not in the same way that Jeb played with him. He really did miss Jeb._

"_Uno," Gaz said, knocking twice on the floor._

_Fang looked up from his ten cards in bewilderment, then directed his gaze down to Gazzy's cards._

"_Did you cheat?" He asked, narrowing his eyes._

"_You can cheat in Uno?" Gaz asked, frowning. "Jeb never taught me how to do that."_

_The side of Fang's mouth flicked up into a half-smile. Gazzy knew that, for Fang, that was practically like a grin as wide as the Cheshire Cats._

"_Best two out of three," Fang said, shuffling the deck carefully._

"_You're on," Gazzy said with a grin._

_Ten minutes later Gazzy leaned forward and knocked on the floor again. "Uno."_

_And, once again, Fang looked up from his cards and stared at Gazzy, who smiled triumphantly back._

"_How do you do that?" Fang asked curiously, putting his cards back on the deck and shuffling again._

_Gazzy rubbed his hands together in a mock-evil way. "You may never know."_

_Fang raised his eyebrow in a typical Fang-like way. "Come on, Gaz, tell me."_

_Gazzy's smile widened until he was grinning from ear to ear then he shook his head. Fang frowned at him._

"_Best three out of five?"_

"_Bring it," Gazzy said, watching carefully as the older boy dealt the cards out once more._

_Of course, it was no surprise to Fang when Gazzy suddenly said 'Uno' less than five minutes into the game. Gazzy laughed proudly as Fang threw his cards into the air and leaned back against his bed. "Okay, you win Gazzer," Fang said, looking at the young kid with a rare smile. "I don't know how you did it, but you win."_

"_Uh-huh," Gazzy said with a nod. "And what else?"_

_Fang raised an eyebrow at him._

"_Say that I'm the greatest Uno player ever…and that I'm better than you."_

_Fang crossed his arms across his chest and carefully looked at the little mischief maker. Gazzy's smile faltered, worrying that he'd pushed the older boy too far._

"_I'm the greatest Uno player ever," Fang said, getting up and walking to the door. "And I'm better than you," he added with a smile, before disappearing out the door._

_Gazzy laughed hard at the joke, but stood and chased Fang down the hallway. "That's not what I meant!"_

Gazzy let the playing card fall to the floor with the others and he drummed his fingers absently on the table. He'd always been really good at Uno and none of the Flock could ever beat him. Fang was his first victim after Jeb had taught him how to play.

Looking back, he could now see how unusually laid-back Fang was while he was playing with him. It was like, for one afternoon, he dropped the whole stoic and emotionless act just to play a game of Uno with him and mess around a little bit. He didn't treat Gazzy like a little kid and brush him aside like the others had.

_Maybe it was because he was surprised that I'd wanted to play with _him _and not one of the other members of the Flock, _Gazzy thought to himself, then shook his head quickly. _What does it matter anyway? He's gone. Being the best at a pointless game like Uno isn't going to change that._

Brushing all other thoughts about Fang from his mind, Gazzy stood from the table and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the playing cards scattered across the floor.

* * *

_**Me: Yeah...not some of my best work...but I have some better things lined up for Nudge, Iggy and Max to make up for this :)**_

**_Iggy: Wow, it's really windy outside..._**

**_Me: -nods- I can feel the whole house shake. Alright, let's get to bed._**

**_Iggy: Best idea you've had tonight_**

**_Me: you didn't like my chapter D:D:D:_**

**_Iggy: ..._**

**_Me: Iggy?_**

**_Iggy: ...BEDTIME!_**

**_Me: -sigh-_**

**_Iggy: Kidding :P_**

**_Me: Sure._**

**_R&R?_**

**_-Bell and Ig_**


	3. Nudge's memory

**Alright, it's five minutes until midnight...I'm exhausted and can't think of an AN. I'll just say THANKS EVERYONE FOR REVIEWING THIS STORY! Yeah...that will do it. Also, I apologise for the crappiness of this chapter. And before you all tell me that Fang is all OOC, (even though he kinda is...) just take into consideration that he's about ten in this memory. Nudge would have been seven. They're just kids. So meh...**

**I hope you like it...**

* * *

Nudge stood tall on the roof of the Flock's house, her long, tangled hair whipping around her face and shoulders in the powerful wind. She tucked it behind her ears in annoyance and sighed as it lashed out again, blowing across her face and blocking her vision. Turning to face the other way so that the wind blew her hair in the opposite direction, Nudge looked out over the night sky. Tonight it looked particularly beautiful. It was like a dark blue blanket had been spread out before her and then scattered with millions of sparkling diamonds that were smaller than the nail on her pinkie finger. And then of course there was the moon. It hovered magnificently above these little glistening diamonds, overpowering them all with its stunning light.

Nudge's lips curled into a small smile as she carefully rolled her shoulders, extending her beautiful tawny wings. She gently shook them out against the blowing wind and could feel her feathers align neatly into place as always. After her wings were free from her jacket, her whole body practically trembled with longing to be in the clear, diamond filled sky. She desperately wanted to ride the thrilling air currents that were unpredictably racing across the blue blanket, sure to bring her excitement. She felt adrenalin race through her veins as she turned to the edge again, bringing her wings in slightly closer so that the wind didn't knock her off the roof. But she didn't jump off the edge like she desired to. Instead, she slowly lowered herself down onto the roof and dangled he tanned legs over the edge. Her wings drooped slightly from behind her and she felt the tips of her feathers brushing the coarse tiles.

She then hunched forward and dropped her gaze towards the grassy floor below, her hair still thrashing around her face wildly.

Nudge tenderly drew her wings tightly against her back again, the feeling of pleasure dying out instantly, leaving her with nothing but sadness. Wiping her eyes on her sleeve, she directed her gaze back to the sky again, the little lights from the stars reflecting in her chocolate eyes.

_Nudge stood on the roof of the E-house, looking out at the sky through innocent eyes. The chilling air swirled calmly around her and she wrapped her jacket tighter around her shoulders. Cautiously, the young girl tiptoed over to the edge of the roof and peered over, her head instantly beginning to spin when she realised how high up she was. She bit her lip hard and then quickly sat down, gripping the edge tight before pulling herself back slightly. She had no problem with heights; that wasn't what was scaring her so. It was the idea of falling…falling so far, almost never ending. Except it does end. As soon as you hit the ground with a sickening thud._

_Nudge drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight, her whole body trembling. Why was she doing this again?_

Oh yeah, _she thought tiredly. _Because the whole flock could jump off the roof and fly as high as they wanted…while I had to stick close the ground.

_With an irritated sigh, Nudge lay back on the roof, scooting on her back even further away from the edge as she did so. She then stared up at the dark sky, her arms wrapped snugly around her stomach to protect herself from the cold. What was she going to do? She had never felt so useless before; so isolated from the other members of her Flock._

"_Nudge?"_

_Nudge screamed as a face appeared in her view of the sky, and she bolted upright. But as she did so, she felt herself slide forward quickly and she shrieked with shock as she felt herself fall off the roof. She closed her eyes tight and screamed, waiting for herself to go splat. But she didn't._

"_Nudge! Open your eyes!" Someone grounded out from above her. _

_Cautiously, the seven year old opened her chocolate colored eyes and looked up to see Fang holding her by the hand. She sighed in relief and was about to thank him when she did the unthinkable. It was something that people were always told not to do but they do anyway. She looked down. And then she screamed again, closing her eyes firmly._

"_Nudge! Fang called out over her screaming, his voice breaking from the effort. "Calm down. I've got you. I won't let you fall. I promise. Just don't look down. Look at me instead."_

_Fang's words echoed through her head and entered her scared thoughts. She didn't know how he managed to get through her screaming and panic, but somehow, he did._

_Breathing heavily and still highly panicked, she stopped herself from screaming and slowly pried her eyes open - making sure of course that her gaze was directed strictly at Fang and nothing else. His face was pulled into a tight frown from the effort and the muscles in his arms bulged as he held onto one of Nudge's arms firmly. He was lying on his stomach while leaning over the edge, looking down at her._

"_Alright," he said as calmly as he could, his teeth clearly gritted. "Now, I need you to bring your other arm up."_

"_I…don't think I can," she replied softly, attempting to move her other arm up to his level and failing. Fang sighed._

"_Well then," he said, shuffling a bit on his stomach. "I guess we're going to have to try something else. But you're going to have to trust me."_

_Nudge stared up at him for a moment with frightened eyes, searching his blank ones. She trusted Fang a lot. He was one of the older kids - she, Gazzy and Angel looked up to them._

_She nodded._

_Nudge then watched as Fang slid back on the roof, disappearing from sight but still clutching Nudge's arm in a death grip. Then, to her horror, she saw a pair of dark wings appear from behind the edge and then Fang pushed them both off the roof. Everything seemed to pause abruptly around her as her body started plummeting towards the Earth. Nothing felt real. Everything that she had been through, the school, moving to the E-house with Jeb…they didn't exist. Nothing mattered anymore except Nudge, and the ground below coming up to meet her._

_But, once again, she didn't go 'splat' like Nudge expected._

_The small girl frowned as she could feel her whole body moving _away_ from the ground and towards the sky at an alarming rate. She cautiously opened her eyes and was surprised to find that she was wrapped tightly in Fang's arms and he was wearing a rare grin._

"_I told you to trust me," he said with mock annoyance._

"_Well it's a bit hard to do that when you're dangling off a roof and about to fall to your death. But I'll try to remember that next time and make sure that I trust you," she retorted, making sure that her eyes were on him and not the ground that was disappearing before them."But thanks, Fang. Without you I would have fallen and the probably died! But then again if you hadn't of shown up then maybe I wouldn't have fallen in the first place and you wouldn't have needed to save me at all. Or maybe I could have fallen and died without you there so-"_

"_I get it Nudge," Fang interrupted, going higher still._

"_Uh…Fang?" Nudge said nervously._

_He met her worried gaze and raised an eyebrow._

"_Can we go down now? I…I don't want to fall."_

_Fang shook his head slowly and gazed out over the dark sky, then at the ground as he stopped going up and started to hover. "You're not going to fall, Nudge. You're a great flyer."_

"_But what if I do? It could still happen! And we're so high up..." she said fearfully, still not daring to look down._

"_Look around you, Nudge. It's amazing up here! There's the big open sky with nothing to crash into with only the moon and stars to keep us company. And then everything is below us. It's like…we own the entire sky. Just have a look."_

_Nudge was stunned by the lengthy, deep speech that Fang had just given, but she shook her head and did what she was told. She tore her eyes away from Fang and looked out over the stunning, inky sky in wonder. He was right; it was amazing up here. Then, as she looked down, she could see the distant forms of the trees and rock faces below her; all of them different and bent and twisted into strange shapes and forms. It was just...wonderful up here. But, even though this was true, she could still feel her head spinning at the height and could feel her body tremble._

"_We own the sky," Fang whispered in her ear. "You can't fall because you can fly. Take a deep breath and then go. You'll love it. Trust me, remember?"_

_Nudge breathed in a slow, deep breath like he said and then nodded up at him. She needed to trust Fang. He was one of the older kids so he _had _to be right. Oh, and then there was always the consolation that Fang would catch her if she fell._

_His mouth curved into a half-smile before letting her go._

_Then she fell._

_But, unlike the last time, everything didn't pause around her. Instead, she focussed on the beauty of the sky, she focussed on the different shapes that the trees and rocks were forming below her and, most importantly, she focussed on Fang's words; "We own the sky."_

_Her wings extended against the wind and then she flapped hard, making herself rise instead of fall. She laughed gleefully as air zoomed past her ears and feathers while she cut through the sky like a knife. _

_When she got used to the indescribable feeling, she started to make huge arks in the sky and then angle her wings so that she could do quick turns and rolls. And best of all, when she looked up, she could see Fang to the right of her, doing the same._

"_We own the sky!" She shouted into the wind, spreading her arms out in front of her like superman. She could have sworn that she heard Fang laugh._

Once again, Nudge stood up on the edge of the roof and spread her wings to their full length. She then looked out over the extravagant sky again and smiled to herself as more tears began to flow. She had looked up to Fang so much back then, and she probably owed him her life too.

Her smile sowly faded, however, when her thoughts started to clear. She had trusted Fang all her life. She had trusted him to be there - to never leave. But he was gone...just like the racing aircurrents whirring dangerously all around her and then disappearing from sight. She quickly wiped her tears on the back of her hand. She needed to forget about Fang for now. All she needed to think about was the dark sky that was currently calling her name.

"We own the sky!" she shouted, her voice echoing all around her.

Then she jumped.

* * *

**...wow. Okay, not some of my best work...shaky at best. I hope that you guys liked it somewhat though...Iggy's is next. And not a moment too soon. I've been planning his and Max's for a while now. **

**R&R?**

**~Bell**


	4. Iggy's memory

**Me: Well, I haven't updated a ff in ages, so I decided to start with this one. Mainly because I already have planned what I want to write and it's almost finished...unfortunately :(**

**Iggy: Where the heck were you going with this chapter?**

**Me: Warning, this has a really sad ending...but I really liked writing it :) Iggy and Fang moments are just the best. I'm considering making a few oneshots with them, just for the heck of it :)**

**Iggy: As long as it's not Figgy, I'm cool with it**

**Me: ...**

**Iggy: Bell?**

**Me: YOU JUST REMINDED ME THAT I NEED TO WRITE A FIGGY FIC!**

**Iggy: -begins to facepalm continuously-**

**Me: Hehe :D Anyway, I'll let you guys read now. Just keep in mind that Fang and Iggy are TEN in this fic so I did my best to make it seem that way. Enjoy :) I know that some of you have been waiting a while for this chapter to come :):)**

* * *

It was 4am and Iggy sat tiredly against the couch pillows, his head tilted back and his pale blue eyes staring at a ceiling that he couldn't see. Today had been a major drag – just like every other day had been since the Prince of Darkness had flown the coop...literally. Everyone had either been locked away in their rooms or doing really weird, out of character things. Iggy had caught Gazzy building house, after house of cards, Nudge had been almost obsessed with creating a scrapbook of outfits from the magazines that Fang had given her so long ago, Angel would stay in her room with Total, often crying silently and Max was…unapproachable. That was the word that best described her, Iggy concluded. It was like she carried a vibe that said "try to talk to me and you'll get shut down." And what about Iggy? He didn't really know how he was coping with all of this craziness. The only difference that he had noticed in himself was that he'd started listening to his iPod more than usual so he could block out the silence that seemed to engulf the house. He simply couldn't stand it. Sure, if he wasn't blind it wouldn't have been nearly as bad…but he was, and therefore it was driving him crazy.

Iggy leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs, his eyes directed straight ahead of him into the nothingness.

"Why did you have to leave, Fang?" He muttered quietly to himself. "You were the one that got me through this dark hell in the first place, and now you're gone."

**...**

_Ten year old Iggy sat in the dirt in front of the small lake about 20 yards away from the house, his sightless blue eyes brimming with tears. Angrily, he wiped them away with the back of his hand and picked up a handful of gravel, throwing it into the lake in frustration. Today was the second worst day of his life. Second only to…_

_Iggy cut the thought short, hurling another handful of gravel into the murky water, savouring the many 'plop' sounds that the small stones made upon hitting surface of the lake. _

_He hadn't meant to yell at everyone like he did. Something inside him had just snapped – something that he couldn't control. But although that he didn't know what had snapped exactly, he did know _why_ he'd fallen to pieces; exactly three years ago from today was when his life had changed for the worst. It was an anniversary that he could never forget…because there was a reminder of it every time that he opened his eyes. And it wouldn't go away. He wasn't allowed to forget._

_Iggy closed his eyes and bathed in the soft rays of the sun that lightly touched his pale skin. He leaned back on his hands and he could feel the small chunks of gravel digging into his skin, and hear the croaks of resident frogs that lived in the lake. He could also hear the sound of boots coming up behind him. The young boy frowned in concentration, trying to distinguish whose footsteps they belonged too. It only took a moment to distinguish them, and his back stiffened when he realised who it was. Why Max didn't send Gazzy, or Jeb or even come herself, he didn't know, but he guessed that he was in for a very interesting talk._

"_Thought I might find you here," Fang murmured, standing exactly next to Iggy while he continued to sit on the ground. Slowly, he picked up the flatest stone he could find and skimmed it across the water with great precision._

"_Five?" Iggy asked, having counted how many times the stone had quickly skimmed the surface of the water._

_Fang nodded. "You amaze me sometimes, Ig."_

_Iggy shrugged in response. "How did you know that you'd find me here?"_

_"A hunch." He replied, skimming another stone while speaking. "How many?"_

"_I wasn't ready," he muttered, glancing at the ground._

"_Come on, Igs," Fang urged, "that one was easy."_

"_Well if it was so easy, then why don't _you_ tell me how many times the stone skipped?" Iggy shouted, springing to his feet and shooting a glare in the darker boy's general direction. "And, while you're at it, you can tell me what our house looks like or what it's like to lie down and watch the _white_ clouds drift across the _blue_ sky or, even better, remind me what colors look like, because I don't remember! I can barely remember what you and Max and the Flock look like…or, at least the people that I _have_ actually seen before! It's just gone. It's all gone."_

_Iggy turned away from Fang in frustration and kicked more gravel into the lake, once again wiping tears away from his eyes. He was angry at himself now. He _never _cried in front Fang. Showing weakness wasn't something that either of the older boys would dream of doing, and Iggy couldn't believe that he'd finally done exactly this in front of him._

"_Iggy," Fang's soft voice said from behind him. "It's three years from today, right?"_

_Iggy whirled back around and 'stared' at Fang with bloodshot blue eyes. "How did you know?"_

"_Because you acted like this last year. And the year before that. You think I wouldn't notice?"_

"_No one else did."_

_There was silence for a moment before Fang took a seat on the gravel. Iggy sat next to him. More silence for a few moments._

"_That's because they want to move on," Fang said, finally. "Remembering the past and what happened to you would be too painful. We don't want to remember."_

_Iggy clenched his fists, his anger rising inside of him. "How do you of all people expect me to move on when every time I open my eyes there's a reminder of what they did to me?"_

"_Because," Fang answered simply, leaning back a bit, "you've still got a lot more going for you. Sure, you're blind and it's hard, but hey, you're still a better cook than the rest of us, your hearing is amazing...and I know that it was you who blew up the toaster last week." He had said all of this in such a nonchalant tone that reminded Iggy of who he was talking to. Fang didn't like to talk about emotional stuff with him, so he tried to make sure that it sounded as casual he could make it, while still trying to make sure that it meant something. He did a good job._

"_I did not," Iggy replied with a small grin and Fang shook his head, obviously not convinced._

"_The point is that your blindness isn't what makes you you. There's also your pigheadedness, your terrible jokes, your snoring and restless sleeping, your lack of a good brain, your-"_

"_Yeah, yeah, I get it, Fang," Iggy cut him off but he was smiling. _

_Fang chuckled slightly, just loud enough for Iggy to hear. "But you never let me get to the best part."_

"_What? The fact that I don't have to see your ugly mug every day?"_

"_No. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us. Our 'Flock' as Max wants us to call it. And, whether you like it or not, we're always going to be there for you…so suck it up already."_

_That, Iggy knew, what the closest Fang was ever going to get to saying 'We love you, Iggy, and we're always going to be there for you no matter what.' Personally, Iggy liked Fang's version, which sounded almost like a threat, a lot better._

"_Thanks, Fang…I think. Maybe I should run while I can."_

"As if_ I'd let you do that."_

**_..._**

Iggy stood slowly from the couch and opened his eyes. Darkness. Again.

Furious, he kicked the table in front of him, hard. It went toppling over loudly and he heard the sound of paper floating to the ground.

"Liar," he said bitterly, clenching his teeth. "You liar, Fang. You said that you'd always be there, but you're not. You said that you wouldn't let me run away, but _you _can. You were the only one that seemed to get what I was feeling, and now you're gone. And you wouldn't even tell me why!"

He kicked the table again. Feeling the pain shoot up his leg, but he ignored it. He kicked it again, and again, and didn't stop until Angel came out, still half asleep, and had to drag him away from it, tears forming in both their eyes.

* * *

**Me: Awwww...**

**Iggy: Ugh...talking about feelings**

**Me: -eyeroll- You make it sound like you're meant to be completely void of emotion. Jeez.**

**Iggy: Well, maybe I am.**

**Me: Stop talking like that...**

**Iggy: Talking like what?**

**Me: ...**

**Iggy: ...**

**Me: ...maybe I'm just tired**

**Iggy: Could be.**

**Me: YOU DID IT AGAIN!**

**Iggy: ;)**

**Me: Ugh...ending this now.**

**Did you guys like it?**

**R&R Please/?**

**-Bell and Ig**


	5. Max's memory

**Me: Alrighty, Max's chapter. Woohoo. Finally got there.**

**Iggy: Let me guess, more emotional stuff?**

**Me: -shrug- I write better when I'm talking about emotions...don't know why. I've never been all that good at humor unfortunately :(**

**Iggy: Whatever...**

**Me: ANYWAY, I would say that this is the last chapter...but I'm thinking of writing a few bonus chapters. I have quite a few ideas, actually. Is that what you guys want though? If not, I could end it right here, right now and that would be the end of the fic, or I can keep going. It's up to you now, my faithful readers :)**

**Anyway, here's the next/possible last chapter :)**

* * *

"Max? You in there?"

Maximum Ride moaned softly in the back of her throat in annoyance and rolled over, facing away from the door. She pulled the covers higher over her face and rubbed her cheek against them, still half asleep.

"Max? Hello?" Iggy said louder, knocking on the door again.

She continued to ignore him and decided to pretend to be asleep, evening out her breathing so that it sounded deeper. She heard the door slowly ease open with a quiet creaking noise, and Iggy's soft footsteps making their way over to her.

"What are we going to do with you, Max?" He said somewhat irritably, shaking her shoulder. "I've considered a few things, from leaving you here in your room, all the way up to putting you in a crate and shipping you off to an island somewhere…but I was outvoted on that one. Come on, get up already."

Max knew that he was only joking around…somewhat. But he was only really making things worse. Mainly because going off to an island is what her stupid ex-best friend had wanted to do so long ago, and that only brought up painful memories that made her heart feel like it was shattering - spreading the sharp, broken fragments throughout her entire body.

"Go. Away." She finally ground out sleepily, pulling the covers right over her head this time, hiding her face away in the darkness that her blankets gave her.

Iggy sighed loudly, sitting on the edge of her bed. "No, Max. I'm not leaving until you eat something. You haven't eaten for days."

She was feeling very angry now. Angry that Iggy had decided to try and boss her around, angry that _he_ was the one trying to help _her_ when she should have been looking after the rest of the flock…and angry that Fang wasn't here helping her. And that was because he deserted her when, clearly, she really needed him. This thought only made the anger inside her stronger.

"I said," she replied slowly, stretching the words out like a rubber band, "go away."

"And I said," Iggy replied stubbornly, also stretching the words out the same way that she had just done, "that I'm not leaving until you eat something. Please, Max. Everyone's worried."

Max could feel what was left of her heart starting to break even more. The flock was worried about her. Of course they were. And there she was, curled up under her blankets sulking.

Slowly, she lowered the covers off her head and sat up, turning to face Iggy who was looking at her with almost perfect accuracy, his sightless eyes portraying exactly how he was feeling; tired, annoyed, worried…but mostly tired. She could already see dark, mishapen rings forming under his eyes.

"Good. Now eat something and I'll leave you alone," he said, thrusting a tray with a stack of toast on it into her hands.

"You sound like a mom," she grumbled picking up a piece of toast and crunching down hard on it purposely.

Iggy scowled. "Someone needs to do it," he snapped, standing up and walking out of the room.

Max found herself staring after him.

**…**

"_Can't sleep?"_

_Twelve year old Max whirled around on the couch and looked towards Fang, who had practically appeared out of nowhere. _

"_Don't do that," she said putting a hand to her chest._

"_Do what?" he replied with a slight smirk, taking a seat on the couch next to her._

"_You know exactly what I mean," she muttered, tilting her head back against the soft couch cushions. "What're you doing up?"_

"_The same thing you're doing."_

"_Which is?"_

"_Sitting here, trying to figure out where to go from here."_

_As usual, he knew exactly what she was thinking without having to ask. She didn't know how he did it, but it was times like these that she loved him for it. It was so much easier than having to explain herself._

_But, of course, she would never tell him that._

"_Alright Mr. Smart guy," Max said, turning her head so she was looking at him. "What am I thinking now?"_

_Fang's dark eyes locked on hers, as if by looking hard enough he could really read her thoughts like Angel._

"_I don't know," he said eventually, his face impassive as usual. "You tell me."_

_Max sighed and leant forward, rolling her shoulders and repositioning her wings against her spine so that she felt more comfortable. What was on her mind was something that she couldn't talk about with the Flock. This was one of those things that if she let them know that she was afraid, they would freak out. And, therefore, she had to be strong for them. There was no other option. But keeping everything bottled up inside her meant that it would all just explode in her face sooner or later. She couldn't keep doing this. _

_And Fang was her best friend. She trusted him more than anyone in the world – no, more than anyone in the _universe_. He was different, and he always would be._

"_Jeb." Max replied finally, brushing a piece of light hair off her shoulder. "Do you really think that he isn't coming back?"_

"_I don't know, Max," he said, looking at the floor. "But we can't get our hopes up, right? Otherwise we're just going to end up disappointed."_

"_So you don't think that he's coming back?"_

"_I never said that."_

"_But you were implying it."_

_Fang sighed, running a hand through his messy dark hair. "You're impossible, Maximum."_

"_I've been told that," she replied and Fang smirked. "But you're right. There's no use in getting our hopes up about something that might not…that's _not _going to happen."_

_Fang nodded slowly. "So what now?"_

"_That is what's been bothering me," she answered, slight frustration lingering in her voice. "Jeb's gone. We may as well face that. But what happened to him? Or why did he leave? What's going to happen to us now? All these questions and no answers. I don't know what to do, Fang."_

_Fang brought his legs up onto the couch so that he was sitting cross legged and turned to face Max. "I think that you already know."_

_Max shook her head slowly._

"_Don't tell me that the _apparently_ great Maximum Ride doesn't know what she's supposed to do now," Fang said with a rare smile, which only made Max hit him with a pillow. Hard. He, in return, ripped the weapon of choice from her hands._

"_I'm greater than you'll ever be," she retorted, "but since _you_ seem to know all of the answers around here, why don't you enlighten me?"_

_Fang placed the couch pillow on his lap and rested his arms on it, leaning forward to look straight into her eyes. He had become serious pretty quickly._

"_Jeb always said that you were going to be the leader, so lead. Jeb isn't the only one that's held Angel when she cried, helped Gazzy when he had nightmares, listened to Nudge's rambling, and stopped Iggy from blowing stuff up. Not to mention that you've helped us out with many tough spots in the past that Jeb never touched."_

_Max looked at Fang in shock. Since when did he give wordy speeches? Eventually she realised that her mouth was hanging open and Fang wanted an answer._

"_But I don't think that I can do it. Not like Jeb did." Once again, this was another thing that she would never admit to anyone but Fang. She always knew that he'd somehow understand._

"_You're right," Fang said, making Max frown, "you can't do this like Jeb did. So don't. Be _Max _instead. You're good at that." He lightly pushed her shoulder playfully. "You can easily pull this off."_

"_You sure about that?"_

"_Positive."_

"_I guess that I'll have to take your word for it then," she said quietly. And Fang replied to this with a smirk._

All it took was her best friend to have confidence in her to make her feel confident herself. And that was why when the two woke up on the couch the next morning, Max took over for the first time…

…

Max blinked and looked around her room in a daze. This had reminded her of why she had become leader in the first place. Sure, Jeb had told her constantly that she was going to lead the Flock, and she would be good at it…but she'd never really believed it. In the back of her mind there was always this veil doubt that seemed to linger and never leave. But that night, Fang had changed that.

Fang had changed everything in her life: he'd been there for her at the school when they'd been in cages, he'd been there when she was at the mercy of the Erasers and she needed back up and he'd been there when she thought that she couldn't go on.

He'd stopped her from doing stupid things like cutting the chip out and held her hand when her mom had performed surgery on her arm. He'd been there on the beach, in the cave, in the hotel, at Anne Walkers house, New York, Washington D.C., deep under the ocean, Antarctica, Africa…every time, through good and bad, he had been there.

And now he was gone.

Max dropped the piece of toast that she had been holding and pushed her tray aside.

Fang wasn't here for her now, even when she felt like this. For the first time, she was really and truly, very alone. And it was all her ex-boyfriend/best friend/deserting jerkface scumbag's fault. And she hated him for it.

And for the first time since reading his letter, she doubled over and cried.

* * *

**Me: ...not my favorite chapter, but meh...**

**Iggy: Too...many...emotions...**

**Me: -laughs- Iggy - the emotionless robot**

**Iggy: -glares-**

**Me: Okay everyone, here's the deal. Tell me whether you want me to continue writing this or not. And if you do, do you guys have any ideas that you'd like to see written? I'll see how it compares to what I have in mind (sshhh, it's a secret atm ;)), but I'd love to hear any ideas :)**

**R&R? Like it, hate it, let me know please :)**

**-Bell and Ig**


	6. Fang's memory

**Me: Hey guys, I know it's been a long time-**

**Iggy: A really, REALLY long time**

**Me: Yeah :( And I'm really sorry for that. But really I could give you a list of reasons a mile long for why I haven't updated, but that would just waste your valuable time that you could spend reading, and I'm not gonna do that to you :P**

**Iggy: Yeah, instead she's just going to write a really long pointless AN ;)**

**Me: Oh ha ha. Meh, I don't want to argue with you so I'm just going to cut to the chase.**

**This is the last chapter for this fic, as I'd like to leave it on a high note. I hope that's ok with everyone :) So anyway, without further ado, here's the last chapter, which is Fang's memory. I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Fang sat alone in the cave with only the buzz of his laptop and the rhythmic sound of the heavy rain to keep him company. He'd been flying for hours – which felt like days – until it had started to rain. He'd pushed himself on for a while longer until the winds picked up and the rain turned into an unsettling storm. By that time he knew that it was hopeless to continue and had to land in the nearest place he could find – the cave.

After drying himself off he'd loaded his laptop, checked a few of his blog comments until he got sick of them and then closed the computer completely, just listening to the rain.

The storm reminded him of many memories that he'd shared with the Flock before Angel was kidnapped at the e-shaped house. After Jeb disappeared there were many thunderstorms that the Flock had to endure alone, and he remembered the many ways of which they had all coped…particularly the one in which he'd teamed up with Angel to scare the monster out of her closet when she was little. He smiled sadly to himself, pushing his wet hair back from his forehead and manoeuvring the laptop to avoid it getting wet. He didn't really want to think about them too much or it might weaken his resolve to stay away. But he just couldn't help himself. His thoughts seemed to drift from Angel, to Gazzy, to Nudge, to Iggy, to Max. And he couldn't help but think about how much had really changed since the four years that were spent at the E-house. Angel and Gazzy weren't little kids anymore, asking him to chase away monsters or play card games. In fact, Angel now acted like someone beyond her years and Gazzy could build bombs. Nudge was no longer afraid of falling like she used to be, and Iggy had stopped seeking help from Fang long ago, breaking away from him and…Max. He could remember her so clearly as if she were here in front of him. Her smile, her chocolate brown eyes that bore into his own, her blonde hair that shimmered in the sun – everything. But it wasn't just the kids that had changed since the E-house; she had too. That scared little girl that panicked when Jeb left was gone, leaving a strong leader in her wake. But the leader gig was practically made for her and afterwards, despite everything that was thrown at them, she'd managed to keep the flock together. It was this, among many other things, that made Fang admire her so much. But there was something else to her as well. She wasn't just a leader and a mum. Fang noticed that when she was with him every worry that she might have had would vanish. It would just be him and her. Fang and Max. They allowed each other to be themselves.

Fang settled back against the cold, dripping cave wall and closed his eyes, finally allowing himself to remember.

* * *

_"What are you doing?"_

_Thirteen year old Fang tilted his head from where he was lying to see Max watching him, eyebrows raised. He did his best to shrug while lying down but he suspected it looked more like a movement of discomfort than anything else. However he didn't offer her any other reply and turned his head back towards the clouds that he'd been observing._

_"That's not an answer," she said, rolling her eyes and Fang smirked._

_"Yes it was."_

_"Well I'll just assume that you're playing dead then," Max said, her brow knotting together. Fang turned his head again and studied the dark rings beneath her eyes and her face that was paler than usual._

_"Wanna join me?" He asked, his mouth quirked up slightly and she chuckled._

_"No thanks, I'm happy being alive, I think," she answered. "But don't let me stop you. You carry on being dead."_

_"No," he said, his expression hardening. "You look really tired. Come lie down."_

_He patted the grass next to him and Max scowled as if angry at him for even suggesting that she may be weak. "I'm fine, Fang."_

_Fang raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. "Even you need to relax once and a while," he said simply, patting the spot beside him a little harder. Why did she have to be so difficult? Was it really that hard for her to just lie down and rest for two seconds? He thought._

_Max stared at him for a few moments, seeming to be deep in thought about something that Fang wasn't quite sure of before she finally gave in and collapsed on the grass._

_"So what are you doing exactly?" She asked him, stretching her right wing out from underneath her and letting the sun catch her feathers. Fang watched out of the corner of his eye but didn't avert his gaze from the pale blue sky before him._

_"Nothing. That's the point," he said, the side of his mouth quirking up. That was Max, always on the move. "Just relax."_

_And it was then that he and Max shared a moment that Fang really couldn't seem to forget. Sure, they didn't do or say anything, but they were together, enjoying each others company. That's all he really needed; for her to just be there._

_"So what if," Max started eventually after half an hour had passed, "while I'm doing this 'relax' thing that you so seem to crave, Iggy and Gazzy decide to blow up the house?"_

_Fang chuckled. "Then you can go over and kick their butts."_

_Max leaned up on her elbow. "So you don't want me to be all…mellow about it and just tell them that 'as long as your spirit is free I don't mind what you do'?"_

_Fang started laughing at her impression and she laughed too. "What do you think I am? A hippy?" He asked her._

_"You may not look the part with all that black but you're sounding like it with this 'relax' stuff."_

_"Not really," he said, leaning up on his elbow to face her as well. He suddenly felt how numb his wings felt after lying on them for so long and fanned them out behind him, the dark feathers almost seeming to change color in the light. "You're just overworking yourself. It's okay to do nothing sometimes."_

_Max looked at him before smiling. "So maybe you're not a hippy…a guru maybe?"_

_"You're just saying that because I'm right," Fang said, his dark eyes watching her carefully._

_"What if I am?"_

_Fang just shrugged and the two of them lay back down, watching the clouds. "You don't have to admit that I'm right for me to be right."_

_Fang looked across and saw Max rolling her eyes. She was about to say something when an explosion shook the ground, making the two bird kids sit bolt upright._

_"Do I need to say 'I told you so' or do you get it?" Max smirked, watching as smoke rose from a window in the house, followed by someone shouting._

_"No. Aren't you gonna get that?" He replied, watching her carefully._

_"Get what?" She said, lying back down. "I don't see anything."_

_Fang felt his usually blank facade shatter as he broke into a smile. "Then I didn't either."_

_Silence passed between them for a few moments as they listened to the kids shouting at each other in the background._

_"We'll just see how long it takes them to find us...and until they do, we'll just keep relaxing," she said eventually._

_"And you call me a guru," Fang retorted, but he didn't get a reply._

_About ten minutes later, the kids came bounding up asking why Max wasn't yelling at them yet. In response, Max said "How about we all just go for a fly and cool off some steam, huh?"_

_Stunned silence._

_"Who are you and what have you done with the real Max?" Iggy asked teasingly, and Max looked over at Fang. He had this weird feeling, something that he really wasn't allowed to feel at the school: pure happiness._

_"It's still me, Ig," she told him and then punched him hard in the arm, but her eyes were still locked with Fang's. "That proof enough for you?"_

_"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing where she'd hit him. "Yeah, it is."_

_"Alright then," Max said, taking charge. "Let's go."_

* * *

Fang's eyes flew open with the sound of thunder echoing around him. Lightning flashed and he remembered where he was and what was happening. He was in a cave waiting out a storm. The Flock wasn't here with him. Max wasn't either. He was alone. He must have just dozed off.

Fang sighed, grabbing his backpack and placing it on the floor as a makeshift pillow. He hit it a few times with his fist until it was the right shape and then lay down and closed his eyes, his fist still clenched. It was too painful. Why had he allowed himself to remember? Because now all he could seem to think about was how much he missed them.

He had trouble sleeping that night, because no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to stop the thoughts of his family from plaguing his mind. But before he did finally doze off, the last memory that he seemed to have was an image of Max lying on the grass, staring up at the sky.

* * *

**Me: And there you have it!**

**Iggy: not sappy at all -eyeroll-**

**Me: -shrug- I liked it. And now I have to go to bed. But thank you everyone who read this fic and reviewed! You guys really do help me write and give me the motivation to keep going. I love you guys, and I hope that you enjoyed this fic :)**

**-Bell and Ig**


End file.
